"I woke up and I was inspired to write a story, I felt like I had a story in me that I needed to tell. It felt like effortless inspiration."-Elsie Mychols on "The Awakening in Moorland" Native of Long Beach, California, Elsie spent her youth daydreaming, reading, and listening to music. "I was a loner as a child, and I didn't have a lot of toys so I turned to books and my imagination." Though "The Awakening in Moorland" is Elsie's first published work, she's been a fan of fiction and writing all her life. "I've always been a reader, I loved reading as a child. When it was time for me to go to sleep I would read under the covers with a flashlight. I was a fan of Comic Books, Nancy Drew, and Little House on the Prairie books. I used to write around stickers!" Elsie excitedly reveals. "I would buy stickers that I liked and use them as illustrations for my stories." "I loved my Nancy Drew books. It's all about the Unknown. It's all a mystery. She has her whole life ahead of her. When I was a teenager-I discovered The Collector by John Fowles-that was a real inspiration for me. It was the opposite of Nancy Drew in many ways, but the main character's obsession intrigued me. He was looking for someone else to fulfill what he could never be, so he could fulfill his spirit. I connected with that." In high school, Elsie had a passion for creating comic strips using crayons. She passed the comic strips around to her friends-one such cartoon was "The Civil Arts." Elsie elaborates: "I didn't like schoolwork very much so I wrote comic strips. 'The Civil Arts' was about me and my group of friends. The main character was in intensive care after getting hit by a drunk driver. I wrote about my little small circle-a skinhead, a punk with flags as a Mohawk, I was the mod, my friend that was into ska, there was the blond Socie girl-and then there was Creature who always had something brilliant to say at JUST the right time." When asked about the writing process, Elsie pauses a few seconds to think before answering. "When I wrote "The Awakening in Moorland" I felt awakened myself . . . I felt excited and focused. It felt effortless." Elsie believes the power of storytelling lies in the reader. "I want reader to be inspired. To smile. To get it. If I can give them a little vacation from the day to day, then I've achieved my goal!"
